Free Innocence Lost by T.A. Williams

and it felt like she had a family all over again. Gruff made her a bow and taught her to hunt and provide for herself. Jess was a good second mom and Gruff would have been a good second dad, but then the bad soldiers took them away too.
    Now Ally had Tiger and Tiger had her. She wondered if, when she got older, she would look back and think of this as her fourth life. And if so what would she be doing then? She hoped by then she would have more people to talk to outside of Tiger and the lady at the trading booth.
    Ally came up upon a large drop off and ten or so feet down was an old creek bed. She looked around and couldn’t see a way to safely climb down, and for a moment considered just turning around and going home until she saw a light in the distance coming closer. Ally dropped down to her belly and pulled Tiger down next to her.
    “Tiger, stay and be quiet.” The dogs ears went back and he dropped his head again but didn’t make a sound.
    She used the high brush to conceal herself and watched as the light spilt into two as it got closer until finally she could make out two people walking down the creek bed with torches. The men stopped a distance from her and just stood there. Ally kept her hand on Tiger’s neck so she could grab him if he tried to move or started growling, but the dog remained quiet.
    The snap of a twig came from the other side of the creek bed, causing both Tiger and Ally to jump slightly. A small slender man walked below her using only the moon light to guide him and approached the men with torches. As he approached the men with torches stopped walking and waited for him.
    “This the guy?” the man on left asked.
    “Yep, this is him.” The voice sounded familiar to Ally. “I forgot his name though.”
    The slender man stopped a few yards from them. “You can call me Hicks. So you all interested?”
    The man on the left took a few steps forward and Hicks took one back.
    “Ethan says you have a large stash of smokes you’re willing to part with.”
    The slender man nodded. “For the right price. My people found a van full of them when the shit hit the fan. You can smoke a pack a day and have enough for close to a year.”
    The name Ethan sounded familiar as well. The men were still too far away for her to make them out and the flames from the torches caused the shadows to dance over the creek bed.
    “So what are you looking for?”
    Hicks glanced towards the man on the right and then back to the man on the left. “Ethan said you had a bunch of guns from the military guys that used to be around here. He said you all would be willing to part with a dozen of them with enough ammo to go around.”
    “Is that so Ethan?” The man on the left lifted his torch towards Ethan, casting away the darkness and revealing the man she had run into in the alleyway. Ethan gave a goofy grin and shrugged his shoulders.
    Hicks took a step back, his head swinging back and forth from Ethan to the man on the left. “I don’t have anything with me and I don’t know where they put the smokes so don’t-“
    Suddenly, the man on the left swung his torch at Hicks’ head, knocking him off his feet and causing the flames to explode all around the man’s head.
    Tiger started to growl and Ally quickly grabbed ahold of him, stopping him for the moment. “Quiet Tiger, don’t move.” she whispered.
    In the creek bed Hicks rolled on the ground, covering his face. The man on the left stood over him.
    “You know where the smokes are. Or at the very least you know somebody who knows. You really want to die for some goddamn cigarettes?”
    Hicks stopped rolling and looked up at the man. “You really going to kill someone for them?”
    The man on the left let out a quick bellow and looked to Ethan. “I like this guy,” he turned his attention back to Hicks. “Of course I’m ready to kill for that many smokes. You know what I could get for that many cancer-sticks? I wouldn’t die for them, but I would kill for